Abstract:
The present study determined the prevalence of gambling
among Greek- affiliated students of the University of the Philippines Manila. 116
respondents who are Greek- affiliated (members Alpha Sigma, Sigma Kappa Pi,
Upsilon Sigma Phi, Alpha Phi Omega, Pi Sigma, and Tau Omega Mu fraternity
and their respective sororities) participated in the study. A survey questionnaire
gathering the respondents’ socio-economic and demographic profile, as well as
gambling participation history was utilized in the study. The researcher also
developed a Likert Scale, which included 6 items measuring gambling
prevalence and 29 items measuring gambling behavior and attitudes. Results
showed that there was low prevalence of gambling among Greek- affiliated
students. Also, none of the respondents were at risk for probable problem and
pathological gambling. This indicates that Greek- letter organizations do not
necessarily influence their members to gamble. Thus, the presence of fraternity
brothers or sorority sisters does not affect an individual’s gambling participation.
Data gathered also indicated that the presence of friends, family members, and
significant others (boyfriend/ girlfriend) also influence the respondents’ gambling participation
more than their fraternity brothers/ sorority sisters. Recommendations were made to help eliminate the common negative connotation of fraternities and sororities in the university, and to explain the
positive effects of Greek- affiliation and their role in the society. The researcher
also suggested that future studies should include correlations in order to
determine the relationship between gambling and other different factors.
